Installation ceremony today for new Cedar Rapids mural

CEDAR RAPIDS — An installation ceremony for a new downtown Cedar Rapids mural takes place at 6:30 p.m. today under the skywalk on Third Street SE between Fourth and Fifth avenues SE.

The mural, inspired by the 'City of Five Seasons' slogan, was created by Portuguese artist Pedro Campiche, who also is known by his artistic name of AkaCorleone.

Installation began on Friday.

'I had never been to Cedar Rapids and, to be honest, I had never heard about it before,' he said. 'So when I got invited to do this, I started to read and learn about the city and got inspired.

'I decided to work with the sentence 'City of Five Seasons' because I think it really captures the spirit of the city. So this is my own interpretation as someone who has never been here.'

The mural is a bright dash of color with hues of blue, yellow, green and more.

'I love Pedro's aesthetic as an artist and his point of view,' said Alexis Dagit, co-chairperson of Murals & More, which is overseeing the installation. 'His colors, brightness and vibrancy that he offers really speaks to the intrinsic spirt of Cedar Rapids and how we're such a diverse community.'

Today's ceremony is open to the public and is expected to last about 15 minutes.